4th January, 2019 09:28:10

Actor Shahrukh Khan was scheduled to shoot for his next film, a biopic on astronaut Rakesh Sharma, from May. However, he has decided to begin shooting from February, a report from Mid-day suggests.

A source told the daily that the decision was taken to avoid wearing heavy costumes during the summer months. “The project is expensive. In a bid to ensure that the film doesn’t exceed the budget, Kapur (producer Siddharth Roy Kapur) and Khan (Shah Rukh) find it imperative to start shooting by February. Doing so will help them wrap up the main schedule before summer. Given that certain crucial scenes must be filmed outdoors, the duo felt shooting in the bulky costumes would be impossible during those months,” the source said. The report also suggests that the reschedule could be a way of diverting attention from Shah Rukh’s latest release, Zero, which has bombed at the box office.

In an interview to Deccan Chronicle, Shah Rukh thanked Aamir Khan for the role. “I thank Aamir [Khan] who was to do the film for calling me and telling me about the role as it would suit me. Whenever I get the time, I will try and spend time with him (Rakesh Sharma),” he said.

Rakesh Sharma is a former Indian Air Force pilot and the first Indian citizen to travel to outer space. With script written by Anjum Rajabali, the film will be directed by Mahesh Mathai and produced by Siddharth Roy Kapur and Ronnie Screwvala under their banners Roy Kapur Films and RSVP Films respectively. There were reports that Bhumi Pednekar has been signed opposite Shah Rukh in the film, but Screwvala told PTI that an official announcement on casting will be made soon.